For many years I have said, “The only time I made a mistake is when I thought I made a mistake, ” well today I made another one. I had intended to go see “Bad Words” that has been out for two weeks and I have heard good things about but a new film opened called “Le Week-End” at the Gateway Theatre and decided to see that instead. It was such a bad decision on so many levelsthough I always try (eliminate try from a sentence and it becomes a positive sentence!) to find something positive in every movie I see.

Knowing the film takes place in Paris we were sort of wondering if there would be sub-titles but, sadly, it wasn’t because we may have understood the movie better. It is basicallyabout a couple celebrating their 30th anniversary coming from Birmingham (England? Or Alabama? Doesn’t matter.) It sort of seems to explain why there are so many divorces among married people but I feel it was really about the various feelings long term relationships go through.

Jim Broadbent, as Nick, is a professor who has been asked to retire early due to something he said to a black girl in one of his classes regarding her hair while Lindsay Duncan, as Meg, is a schoolteacher who is looking for romance, in her marriage or not, yet refuses to have sex with her husband. Their ambivalent feelings toward each other comes and goes.

The catalyst that makes them move is caused by Morgan, played by Jeff Goldblum,a former student of Nick, who sees his old professor as the man who motivated him to become a successful writer and after bumping into each other walking in the street, with Morgan, seeing the husband an wife in a passionate kiss, invites them to dinner. At the dinner Meg is invited to have a drink at a corner bar which she accepts.

The film doesn’t seem to have an ending that doesn’t end though it does have a cute dance scene in restaurant bar.

One of the major faults of the movie is that Lindsay Duncan is quiet spoken but to a point that you almost don’t hear her though as an actress you can follow her story.

Some audience members laughed a lot when Broadbent dshare a joint with Morgan’s son but this scene has been played in so many films we couldn’t understand the laughter.

I really don’t know what the director, Roger Michell, and writer, Hanif Kurelshi, was trying to say in this film but I came away with that passion disappears in long relationships and that very low speaking lead actresses do not help a fan. I did speak to Ray on the way out and tell them that should raise the sound just a bit to make Duncan audible and not make the other actors seem to be shouting.